DAGS Honors Outstanding Employees at Yearly Incentive and Service Awards

Posted on Aug 18, 2026 in Main

HONOLULU — Exceptional state employees took center stage at the yearly State Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) Incentive and Service Awards Ceremony. Acting Lieutenant Governor, DAGS Director and State Comptroller Keith Regan praised the group for its hard work and service to the people of Hawaiʻi.

DAGS gives out three incentive awards for workers who performed great work in the calendar year 2025. They are:

Team of the Year: the Surplus Property Office staff at the State Procurement Office, an agency administratively attached to DAGS. The team members are:
Mei Phillips
Bee Kelsey
Chihiro Kleinhans
Fai Goya
Elly Raguindin

4 people wearing lei are standing and smiling at camera. Middle people are holding envelope. Text on the side reads "Mei Phillips, Elly Raguindin. Not pictured- Bee Kelsey, Chihiro Kleinhans, Fai Goya. Team of the Year, Surplus Property Office at State Procurement Office, an attached agency of DAGS."

(Left to right) Acting Lt. Governor and DAGS Director Keith Regan, Team of the Year Surplus Property Office staff Mei Phillips and Elly Raguindin, Acting Comptroller Meoh-Leng Silliman

Manager of the Year: Eric Agena, engineering program manager at the Kauaʻi District Office

Three people wearing lei are standing and smiling at camera. Middle person is holding envelope. Text on the side reads "Eric Agena, Employee of the Year, Kaua'i District Office."

(Left to right) Acting Lt. Governor and DAGS Director Keith Regan, Manager of the Year Eric Agena, Acting Comptroller Meoh-Leng Silliman

Employee of the Year: Kelli Wang, senior technical analyst at the Office of Enterprise Technology Services

3 people wearing lei are standing and smiling at camera. Middle person holds envelope. Text on the side reads "Kelli Wang, Employee of the Year, Enterprise Technology Services."

(Left to right) Acting Lt. Governor and DAGS Director Keith Regan, Employee of the Year Kelli Wang, Acting Comptroller Meoh-Leng Silliman

Here is what each awardee did to earn the recognition:

The Surplus Property Office collects and sells both secondhand government items as well as items that travelers surrender to the Transportation Security Administration at the airports. Its impact reaches agencies and nonprofits statewide because it redistributes a lot of federal equipment to state and county agencies at a small fraction of the market cost. In 2025, it supported 27 organizations.

Eric Agena may be the Kauaʻi District Office manager, but he’s willing to do anything to get the job done, including raising flags and collecting meter coins. That “can-do” attitude became very apparent in 2025, when Agena helped support district offices on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. There were eight vacant engineering positions — four of them, head positions — covered by just one person. For most of that year, he worked six or seven days a week, flying between islands every other day.

Kelli Wang has been central to advancing DAGS’ enterprise IT strategy. Last year, she played a key role in shaping IT standards, reviewing departmental budget requests and guiding agencies through complex governance requirements. Wang’s efforts help keep departments aligned with statewide policies and long-term strategic plans and have strengthened the enterprise as a whole.

These awardees will represent DAGS at the state level for the 2026 Governor’s Awards Ceremony on September 15.

DAGS also gives out service awards to employees with 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service to the state. There were 27 people who observed their 10-year anniversary in 2025, 11 workers who made 20 years of service, four people who have worked for the state for 30 years, and two people who hit 40 years: Ross Kurashima from Enterprise Technology Services and Jessie Inada Kahili from the East Hawaiʻi District Office.

3 people wearing lei are standing and smiling at camera. Middle person holds envelope. Text on the side reads "Ross Kurahshima, Celebrated 40 years of work, Enterprise Technology Services."

(Left to right) Acting Lt. Governor and DAGS Director Keith Regan, Service award recipient Ross Kurashima, Acting Comptroller Meoh-Leng Silliman

Photo of woman's face looking at camera. She has glasses, a yellow flower behind one year, and her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. The background is blue. Text on the side reads "Jessie Inada Kahili, Celebrated 40 years of work, East Hawai'i District Office."

Jessie Inada Kahili, Service award recipient recognized for completing 40 years of DAGS employment in calendar year 2025

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